Andy Burnham has said the Commonwealth is in a better position after a gathering at which Britain agreed to "time bound" talks to address the harms of the transatlantic slave trade. The Prime Minister's comments followed a joint statement from Commonwealth countries, including the United Kingdom, saying the time had come for Britain to hold meaningful talks about the harms caused by the slave trade.
Agreement at Chogm
Speaking to the Economist after the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) on the Caribbean island of Antigua, Mr Burnham said: "I think we have done something, we've achieved something out there." He described the retreat with leaders as "quite moving actually at times" and said people had responded to what the UK had done.
Mr Burnham said he felt that by engaging in the way it had, the UK had done something "to put the Commonwealth, hopefully, in a better position post-Chogm and ready to move forward." He added: "So it's really nice to hear that."
The Prime Minister has used his first Chogm to promise to listen to other member states and pursue a "new approach" to the Commonwealth, after the last summit in 2024 saw Downing Street resist calls for an apology and seek instead to focus on the group's future.
Reparations ruled out
Mr Burnham has said he is willing to make a formal apology on behalf of the UK for its role in slavery, but has ruled out the prospect of direct reparations. In keeping with his predecessors, he has rejected the idea of paying reparations but has said he wants to look at ways to help poorer countries struggling with debt repayments.
The UK will also allocate £40 million over three years from within existing budgets to speed up critical infrastructure investment, including green energy, in the Caribbean.
A communique released at the end of the meeting signalled that Britain had agreed to engage in talks about the legacy of slavery. It said: "We welcome the agreement of the Government of the United Kingdom to engage in a structured, time-bound, inclusive and good-faith dialogue with affected parties addressing the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and its historical harms."
Timeline for talks
Officials said the timeframe for the process would be agreed at a later date, though Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has suggested it would likely conclude within a year. Asked whether the Government might reach the point of a formal apology by the time it hosts the G20 leaders' summit in Manchester next November, he told BBC Newscast: "Broadly speaking, yes."
